


How we got there

by wishiwerebella



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Stony Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 22:06:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4496514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishiwerebella/pseuds/wishiwerebella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is there for Tony when he needs him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How we got there

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is intended to fill in the gap between Iron Man 3 and AoU, while addressing CA:TWS, but I have a crap memory so if the details/timeline are a little off, lets call it artistic license. :)

Tony had thrown himself into his work after New York. How could he not, given everything he had seen? He had to find a way to protect the earth, and more importantly the people he loved. There was too much uncertainty in his world. He was driving himself crazy with it. That’s what Pepper had told him when she left him. When his Malibu house and his entire collection of suits (and cars, may they rest in pieces) went over that cliff, Tony’s world shifted.

Deciding to remove the arc reactor from his chest was one of the hardest decisions Tony had ever made. That arc reactor was responsible for who he was today: Iron Man and Avenger. Tony knew that he could modify his suit designs to use a power source external from his chest, just as he had for War Machine. He knew that it was the smart thing to do. It was the phone call from Steve that had finally made him do it.

“We’ll be there when you wake up,” Steve had assured him. Tony didn’t fully understand why at the time, but that was an offer he simply couldn’t turn down. It seemed like forever since New York, since Tony had last felt like part of the team, since he’d last seen Steve.

As he came out of the anesthesia, Pepper was right by his side, holding his hand. The fact that he was disappointed was a bit of a shock to him. He loved Pep, even after they’d gone their separate ways. Tony tried not to show his disappointment, but he certainly couldn’t hide the bright smile that lit up his face when Pepper stepped aside to reveal Steve standing behind her.

“The rest of the team is just outside. We didn’t want to overwhelm you all at once,” Steve said quietly, grasping Tony’s shoulder in greeting. Tony bent his arm to place his hand on top of Steve’s. Pepper’s cell rang, and she excused herself silently.

“Thank you,” Tony croaked out. His throat was dry and scratchy and just those two words caused him to wince. Steve looked around the room and found the pitcher of water on the side table, poured Tony a glass, and held the straw to his lips.

“Here, drink a little bit at a time,” Steve cautioned as Tony lifted his head slightly to sip the cool drink. Tony laid back, smiling at Steve in thanks. Steve brushed a lock of hair out of Tony’s face, staring at him adoringly.

Pepper cleared her throat. “Hm. Arrangements have been made for the team at a hotel nearby for tonight and tomorrow. If you’re all planning to stay any longer, I’ll need to find someplace else because the hotel is sold out,” Pepper informed Steve, her tone more formal than usual.

“Thank you, Pepper. Nat and Clint and Bruce have duties to return to in New York, but I plan to stay awhile longer. I’m happy to sleep in a nearby chair,” Steve answered, finally lifting his gaze from Tony’s.

“Well, we should let Tony get some rest,” Pepper said, stepping sideways and indicating with her hand for Steve to make his exit with her. Steve sighed and started to follow Pepper out when Tony’s hand shot out from the bed and grabbed his arm with what Steve imagined was all the strength he could muster right now. An alarm went off, indicating Tony’s heart rate had spiked. Steve returned to his side in an instant, sitting on the edge of the bed, and taking Tony’s hand in his.

“Tony, what’s wrong?!” The panic on Steve’s face was genuine, and very unlike the usually collected Captain. Pepper ran to the doorway, calling for a nurse down the hall.

“Stay,” Tony demanded. “And get me to the Avengers Tower in New York as soon as they’ll let you. Not as soon as Pepper says, but when the doctors say I can,” he pleaded now, his grip on Cap’s arm still tight.

“Okay,” Steve breathed out, worry fading. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you.” Tony relaxed his grip, heart rate evening out as the nurse entered the room, Pepper shouting about how could this possibly be the best hospital on the West Coast if the nurses were too busy to attend to an alarm right away.

The RN shut off the alarm and checked Tony’s vitals. “You feeling okay, Mr. Stark?” She asked brusquely. Tony only nodded, eyes drooping closed. “He’ll probably sleep a few hours if you all want to go eat dinner before he wakes up,” she told Steve and Pepper as she left.

“Thank you,” Pepper said, apologetic for her outburst now that she was certain Tony was all right. “I have some business to finish up before I’m done for the day, would you like me to make arrangements for you all for dinner?”

“No, I’m going to stay here. Can you let the others know they can come back later? I’ll text Nat when he’s awake,” Steve said. Then, “and you, of course.” He pulled the chair meant for guests closer to the bed, not currently holding Tony’s hand, but close enough that he could without moving much. 

“Thank you, Captain, for being here for him.” Pepper’s smile was only a little sad as she turned and walked out, leaving Captain America to keep watch over the vulnerable Iron Man.

Tony rarely slept soundly these days, and even under the heavy fog of pain meds, nightmares crept in. Tony woke screaming, calling out for Jarvis to send him a suit. Of course, none came. Steve was right there, settling Tony back against the pillows as he strained upward in fear. Clint, Natasha, Bruce and Thor burst into the room.

“Shh. Tony, I’m right here. We’re all here. You’re safe. Settle down, you’re safe,” Steve soothed.

“Its been so long,” Tony’s voice was barely above a whisper and unshed tears glinted in his eyes. “I don’t feel safe without them. I’m too exposed.”

“We will not let any harm come to you, Anthony,” Thor stepped forward, taking up most of the space in the small room. Bruce nodded his agreement mutely, pressing his back against the wall nearest the door.

“Clint and I have been all over the building. We’ll keep an eye on you,” Natasha added. Tony still looked absolutely fear-stricken.

“I’m not going anywhere, Stark,” Cap said, pulling Tony’s attention to him, and taking his hand again. “I won’t leave your side until you’re back in the tower,” Steve promised. The tension in Tony’s body visibly released, and Steve sunk back into the chair, keeping Tony’s hand in his.

“I really wish I had that super-soldier healing power right about now,” Tony remarked, leaving behind the drama of the past few minutes. “You guys are going to get bored with me real quick.” He flashed that trademark charming Stark smile.

“We’ll just have to find something good on TV,” Clint said, pulling two chairs from the hallway into the room so they could sit. Thor followed suit. The team watched horrible sitcom re-runs throughout the night as Tony dozed on and off, nightmare free.

When the rest of the team left on the third day, Steve worried, correctly, that Tony would become anxious again. Tony began harassing every hospital staff member that entered the room that he wanted to be discharged, now. Finally a doctor came in to tell Tony that when he could get up and go to the bathroom on his own, he was free to go. Thanks to the open back of the hospital gown he was wearing, Steve was able to move Tony from the bed to the toilet and back again without it being entirely awkward. Steve called in a favor with Clint to get him to delay leaving so he could pilot the quinjet from Malibu to New York. The sooner Tony was back home, the better.

As soon as Tony was safely within the tower, he called out to his friendly A.I. “Jarvis, buddy, pull up the specs for the latest suit. I want to get working on that right away.” Steve wheeled him into the elevator, rolling his eyes, and hit the button for the penthouse. “Steve, no! I need to get into the lab right away,” Tony protested, trying to reach out to the elevator buttons and failing as Steve pulled the chair back just slightly.

“Tony, you promised me you would rest if I sprung you from the hospital a day early. Banner can only do so much for you, and if I have to call 911 to have you rushed to Mount Sinai, I will make you take two whole weeks off to recover,” Steve scolded the man like a child. The elevator deposited them in the penthouse suite and Steve wheeled Tony into the bedroom.

“I will take tonight off, under protest, but I am going down to the lab first thing in the morning, okay?” Tony tried to insist, but ended up asking permission in the end. It was hard to say no to the adorable blonde who scooped him up out of his wheelchair and deposited him in the bed without so much as jostling him.

 “After breakfast in bed, I will take you down there myself. I promise,” Steve pledged, parking the wheelchair off to the side of the bed. Steve got two water bottles out of the fridge and plopped down gently next to Tony, picking up the remote and turning on the TV. “Tonight, we catch up on Hell’s Kitchen.” Steve loosened the lid on Tony’s water bottle before handing it to him. They mock toasted with their bottles and each took a sip, settling in comfortably side-by-side.

It only took Tony a week to have the first suit up and running, although it was two more weeks before Bruce cleared him to take it on a test flight. By then, Tony had nearly finished two more and was beginning work on a fourth.

Steve ensured that Tony took all of his pain meds on time and ate and drank regularly. Tony had gotten used to Steve sitting in the lab sketching or reading SHIELD reports. Tony hadn’t had a nightmare since that first night in the hospital, with the exception of the week Steve and Natasha had been gone on a call to DC. Both Bruce and Clint had tried to fill in for Cap’s absence, but Tony was too nervous to sleep, and even more so when he noticed that his caretakers, including Jarvis, had been editing the news broadcasts whenever he turned them on to leave out certain stories. Steve returned a little worse for wear, but assured Tony he was fine and he would explain it all later.

Two months after his surgery, and after amassing a collection of a half dozen suits, Tony worked up the courage to ask Steve out on a date. “I want to take you out, to say thank you for making me feel safe while I was defenseless,” Tony told him.

Steve blushed, taking Tony’s hand in his for what felt like the millionth time. “I would never let anything happen to you, Tony, suit or no suit. And I’d love to have dinner with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is my fill for the de-powered square on my Stony Bingo card. I hope you enjoyed! I am having WAY too much fun with these prompts!


End file.
